THE TRICEPS-REFLECTING ANCONEUS PEDICLE (TRAP) APPROACH FOR DISTAL HUMERAL FRACTURES AND NONUNIONS

Abstract

Adequate exposure is a prerequisite for treatment of distal humeral fractures, as with most surgical procedures. Challenging as they may be to reduce and fix, these fractures can be made more or less difficult to treat based on exposure; complications of successful treatment may arise as a result of the exposure. In this article the authors describe the triceps-reflecting anconeus pedicle (TRAP) approach to the distal humerus, which provides an extensile and versatile approach for treatment of fractures and nonunions. The TRAP approach provides almost the same exposure as an olecranon osteotomy, without the complications of the osteotomy, and has the added advantage of retaining the whole olecranon to use as a template against which to assemble the articular fragments of the trochlea.